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A pensioner had a miracle escape when she stepped out of her kitchen to send an email – seconds before a speeding Ford Focus smashed through the wall.

Carol Stone screamed when she saw the silver car wedged sideways between her fridge and oven with cooking equipment and utilities left flung around the room.

The 64 year-old and her husband Alan had especially erected walls around the property 15 years ago – when another car drove straight towards the kitchen, but a tree took the impact.

Carol was rescued by a neighbour who heard her screams and climbed through a tiny gap under the Focus to shepherd her to safety at 12.30pm today.

The couple said they have had to move out of their home, which police said is now structurally unsound.

Alan, aged 65, who was out at the time, said Carol was so shaken she could barely speak when she rang him.

The Ford Focus, containing the 20-year-old driver and his 17-year-old female passenger, is believed to have flipped over before crashing into the house.

The driver and passenger were said to have fled the scene before locals caught them and took them back to the house, where they were treated by paramedics and taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Fire crews feared the car could burst into flames, after receiving reports of a fuel link, but soon realised this was a false alarm.

“I just can’t believe it. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Alan told the Birmingham Mail.

“My wife said she was standing there just 30 seconds before preparing tea for the evening.

“She put something in the fridge and walked out of the door to send an email when there was a blast.

“She was screaming and another car pulled up and he crawled underneath the car to get her out.”

The couple’s Peugeot people carrier was also badly damaged in the crash on Green Lane in Shelfield, Walsall.

Debris from a low brick wall at the front of the house, about 20ft from the kitchen, was left scattered on the drive.

“When we first came to live here we built these walls because a car did the same thing 15 years ago and rolled over,” said Alan, a retired newspaper worker.

“There used to be a massive tree in the middle of the garden and it took the impact.”

Alan is waiting for his insurers to tell him how bad the damage is.

The noise of the impact was heard along the road.

Neighbours said they estimated the car was speeding on the 30mph road they say has become a rat run.

They said they have complained to Walsall Council for years about speeding along the 30mph road, which has concrete cushions they say are ineffective.

Alan and Carol’s next door neighbour Martin Bowater said: “The chap at the farm heard a bang before coming along to find out what was going on. It’s unbelievable. We have been asking the council to do something about speeding for years.

“My worst fear is for my 12-year-old daughter who rides up and down here on her bike.”

Stephen Raybould, the couple’s next-door neighbour on the other side, said: “We have lived here 37 years and had cars going into lamp-posts and crashing into bay windows.

“They put the cushions in but it made no difference. People still come down the road like hell for leather. It’s horrendous. When are they going to do something, when someone gets killed?”

The fire service warned motorists to watch their speeds in residential areas.

Steve Palmer, watch commander at Aldridge fire station, said: “Speed was an issue in this case. We would remind all drivers to watch their speed and stick to the 30mph limit in residential areas.

“We were mobilised with a crew from Walsall. When we arrived the police and a paramedic responder were in attendance.

“We had further information to say the driver and the passenger had vacated the car and ran off from the scene but locals managed to locate them and the police apprehended them and brought them back to the scene.”

Mr Palmer said the man and woman in the car were “lucky to be alive”.

He said: “They were both complaining about neck, back and head injuries. Fire service crews dealt with them while the paramedic dealt with the lady who was in the property and had since left.

“An assistance message went in to ask for extra ambulances to deal with the casualties.

“Our primary role was to make the incident safe.

“As no one was in the car or the house we dealt with it as a static incident.

“We had reports of a fuel leak and the possibility that the car might burst into flames so we used some of our environmental equipment to soak up the fuel, but it became apparent it wasn’t much of an issue.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “The property was left structurally unsafe and has been evacuated as a precaution along with an adjoining property.

“The road was temporarily closed while emergency services were at the scene.”

• Police have arrested a 20-year-old man for taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.